My name is Dr. Barbour and I am excited to be your English teacher! I was born and raised in San Diego, California and attended university in Los Angeles, at one of the most prestigious universities in the United States, Pomona College. My interest in teaching began in my last year of university when I worked as a teacher´s assistant in an Elementary school. This interest, coupled with my passion for Flamenco guitar, guided me to Southern Spain, where I received a scholarship from the Spanish Ministry of Education to be an English teacher in an Elementary school in Cádiz, Spain. I fell in love with Cádiz and decided to stay and have lived in the province of Cádiz for 8 years.

While in Spain, in addition to working as an English teacher and studying flamenco guitar, I have completed a doctorate in Arts and Humanities from the University of Cádiz, a five-year process that has greatly enhanced my teaching skills. One of the most vigorous exercises of my life was writing my doctoral thesis in Spanish while one of the proudest moments of my life was when I defended my thesis and received the highest grade possible, the cum laude distinction.

In Spain I have worked as an English teacher for 8 years. I have taught in Elementary schools, in English academies and as a private tutor. I am TEFL certified and have continued my professional development through countless webinars with organizations such as Cambridge English. I love to teach and have the experience to guide my students to success.

Although I am an experienced English teacher, that is not what separates me from most other English teachers, rather it is my passion for teaching and my innovative classes. I believe that students must have fun to learn and that it is a teacher’s role to make the educational process inspiring and fun. Foundational to this belief is my use of music, particularly flamenco guitar, in my classes. Students learn grammar, vocabulary and how to tell a story all accompanied with the guitar. This is one of the reasons why all my students have two things in common: they enjoy my classes and pass the English exams I prepare them for!